Connect local USB devices

In situations where you need to connect a local USB device (such as an iPhone) to your cloud-based Mac, we recommend the third-party software USB Network Gate from Electronic Team, Inc.

With USB Network Gate you get to efficiently share multiple USB devices over Ethernet and connect to them on remote machines as if the devices were physically plugged into the computers regardless of the location or distance between them.

Installation and configuration

Install the software on your local machine first. When the installation has completed open USB Network Gate. In the top right corner you should be on the local tab where all USB devices connected to your machine will be displayed. Then Click on the Symbol right of the connect button of the device you want to share.

In the newly opened window, choose "Connect to remote client", add the public Address of your Mac Bare Metal unit, a free Port (17831 as an example) and we recommend adding "Encryption" and "Compression". Then add a password if you chose an encrypted connection. Finish by clicking on "Share".

The configuration on the server side is now finished.

Now the appropriate Ports have to be opened. For this log in to my.flow.swiss, go to "Mac Bare Metal", "Networking" and then "Security Groups". You can now edit the default security group or create a new one. Under rules click the (+) symbol and add ports:

  • TCP 17831 (or whatever Port you chose)

  • TCP 5473

  • UDP 5474, 5475

If you edited the default group it should look like this:

Now change to your Mac Bare Metal unit and install the USB Network Gate. After the installation open the application. Choose the "Remote" register in the top right. In the top bar click on "Device", then "Add device".

In the new window choose "Allow callback connection", enter the port number 17831 (or whatever you chose) and click on "Add".

You should now see an entry under "Callback connections" with an unknown device. Click on connect on the right and enter the specified password when asked.

Your local USB device should now connect to your Mac Bare Metal unit.

Last updated